Intelligence agencies, probing the recent Mumbai blasts, have zeroed in on three hawala operators of the country and are investigating their role, if any, in allegedly transferring funds for carrying out the recent bomb blasts.
Sources said investigating agencies have got “significant leads” and all hawala transaction that took place between February 25 and March 11 from Jaipur to Mumbai are being scrutinised. Without disclosing the identity of hawala operators, sources said, three hawala operators of Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai are under the scanner of the agencies, sources added.
“Investigators are also taking assistance of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in this connection. Some of the suspected hawala operators based in Chandigarh and Pune have also been questioned by the Central agencies in this regard,” sources said.
Agencies are also examining the role of D-company, who controls the entire hawala and betting racket of the southeast Asia, in Mumbai’s synchronised blasts, sources added. Dawood Ibrahim ran a substantial hawala operation out of Mumbai, Karachi and Dubai. Sources further said, “Officials of the Central revenue agencies are in regular touch with sleuths of the anti-terrorist squad (ATS) of Mumbai. Officials of the Mumbai ATS have also questioned some hawala operators in this connection.”
“The use of hawala network in terror financing is not new at all. It may be recalled that the fund for the Delhi serial blasts, 2005 had come from Dubai through the hawala channel. Probe by the ED into Delhi serial blasts had revealed that `15 lakhs was transferred to the account of Tariq Ahmad Dar, the prime suspect in the serial blast case and a top Lashkar-e-Tayabba operative, in Srinagar from Dubai, just few days before the blast,” sources said.
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Four ex-Simi members held in Kurla
Dippy Vankani
Mumbai
July 31: Four former members of Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), now believed to have joined Indian Mujahideen, were picked up from Kurla on Sunday in the Mumbai 13/7 triple blasts case, sources said.
“The four were picked up and questioned at length. They have been asked not to leave the city without notifying the police,” said the source, adding, “the four did odd jobs in Mumbai.”